About these B horses and shetlands

[Fred]

Up here a good pony [or mini] is worth their weight in gold! You cannot beg, borrow or steal one. Pony Club, 4-H, riding stables, backyards they are all over the place! I only have two B minis and neither one is broke to ride but they both drive! When Courtney was 5 and Shadow was 4 they teamed up and she rode him in leadline at the open shows. Mind this was against professionally trained very expensive big horses and she beat them all!!!!!!! Shadow is only 34". Not only that she rode him western which around here is a big no no when you show as a kid. Needless to say she got the year end award for leadline. ASPC/AMHR shows DO have leadline classes. When I went to Texas they had ALOT of kids riding minis and shetlands. I always had "big" horses growing up and always wondered what the heck minis were good for. When I got Fred he showed me exactly what they are good for. I handle ALL types of horses every single day, from Freisans to minis and when I get home at night let me tell you I ENJOY having those fuzzy little faces greeting me. Linda B

 

[Magic]

Finally, I may be very selfish, but I do not want to subject my babies to a bit in the hands of a novice...leadline, yes, but true riding, I think not. If they want to be in control, they can borrow one of our bikes.

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Oh Susanne, I feel exactly the same way! I just didn't know quite how to say it, but you said it very well.

Also, although it should be different, as a well-broke, dependable pony should be worth its weight in GOLD, I find, at least in this area, that nobody is willing to pay more than a few hundred dollars for them. My "non-riding" horses are worth a heck of a lot more than that, so I'll leave the "breaking to ride" to someone else and just concentrate on halter and performance horses.

I do know what you are getting at though Marty.

 

[Crossbuck Farms]

I have broke several minis and ponies to ride. Thanx to the help of cuz!

 

[billiethekid40]

Well, before I had a mini I had NEVER even been to a "breed show". It seems like once people get into the breed shows they often overlook the "open" shows as no longer being a worthwhile option. We have numerous shows in our area and beyond where riding is the theme of the day. What kind of riding do you want to do? There is a show for you if you're willing to check out the local circuit! What type of horse do you own? There is a riding class for you if you are willing to check out the local circuit! You have a kid that has a pony and they want to ride in a show? Check out the local open circuit! Just because the breed shows can't offer enough classes to showcase the horses as all round riding horses doesn't mean the kids have to miss out or you can't market a great kids pony for riding. It just means you have to be open to showing on the open circuit!

There are great programs out there for kids who want to ride, 4-H, pony clubs, riding clubs, and hey, nothing is cuter than a little one beating a full size horse in the showmanship class

, and if you get enough support, you can probably get a driving class or two offered at your local open show so your kids can have the best of both worlds. Plus, at least in my expereince, open shows can be a lot less expensive and they are still a lot of fun. There are lots of people who ONLY show on the open circuit for riding (even those with registered horses), and they take it every bit as seriously as those who show breed shows, and their horses are every bit as good quality as the breed shows as well!

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

susanne... not to really debate but isnt selling a performance horse.. a driving horse the same thing .. a bit in the hands of a novice?

 

[disneyhorse]

Add me to the list who wants a big ole B mini/shetland for DRIVING!!!!

Andrea

 

[susanne]

lisa,

You're right, and I'd have the same qualms...although I'd hope with an adult you'd have a better chance of getting someone who could grasp the concept of soft hands.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

lisa,
You're right, and I'd have the same qualms...although I'd hope with an adult you'd have a better chance of getting someone who could grasp the concept of soft hands.

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LOL as a former assistant riding instructor (the one who started the beginners) I can say I always found the kids were MUCH easier to teach and MUCH more willing to listen and understand then the adults

although that said I do understand your point

 

[shminifancier]

Add me to the list who wants a big ole B mini/Shetland for DRIVING!!!!

I love to drive a B or even slightly larger one. My Josh was 39 and was a great l Shetland for driving.. I did quite a bit of driving with him.. He was a very nice Shetland and very easy to train.. I owned him for 17 years and it was that Shetland that got me into minis~!!!!! But I never did drive them shame on me, But a nice Shetland is great for kids of ALL ages.

 

[Jill]

I do  agree with Jill, just my personal pereference that if you guys all saw Bacardi,  he would be a horse for a kid to die for to ride in the ring, just as an example.

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Oh now wait! Stop the presses. If a kid got on Bacardi and he was not able to dump them, I'd help him out with the little hitch hiker!!!

Bacardi will be to die for for ME in my Lutke harness and pulling my Houghton. He's going to be awesome as a CP driving horse. And, of course, this is just an unbiased prediction. It's not like I am in love with him

That said, I do have some horses I feel are good matches for SMALL children to have pony rides (no bits in little hands...), such as Sunny (who was also on the trailer), Goldie, Lou, and Derby... I actually think I may do a pony party for my nephew's second bday party at the end of March and take Sunny and either Goldie or Lou.

AND, if I ever put more time into him, I have a 42" or so pony that is just very sturdly built and would probably be great for kids to ride one day... If Harvey and I ever have a kid, maybe he or she will have a big project to take up some time.

But, not Bacardi! Adults Only. You must be at least 21 years old for a shot of Bacardi.

 

[Getitia]

Yea Marty for bringing up this topic.

- Yes, I too grew up on the back of a pony and in our neighborhood - Most of us owned a pony of some type and we would go riding almost every weekend - a whole group of us anywhere from 5 to 10 at a time - We were fortunate as there were many back yard trails and open land where we had permission to ride and we would be gone for hours -

. Those weekend rides were some of the best memories of my youth. Then many of our informal riding group, graduated to horses as we each outgrew our ponies - Others went on to other adventures of the non-equine type..........However several of us continued riding - and we were soon showing first in 4H then graduating on to open and then rated shows. When my first son was born, he was riding as soon as he could set up but I felt that he too should learn to ride on his own pony and here he is -riding his first "B" mini "Panda" at one of the shows (she was his Christmas present) - this photo is about 25 years old (I chuckle about the long tail, but they were very popular in those days)

And my son too graduated to a full size horse and his little brother then inherited "Panda"........Panda in my opinion was the absolute "mold" for the worlds best kids pony and our adult children still talk discuss the wonderful memories of Panda. She truly was remarkable .............Now some of our grandchildren are interested in the horses and are asking for a pony of their own.

Here are 3 of our 7 Grandchildren having a discussion with our B gelding Lightening who loves children.

- So yes, it is now time for the third generation of our family to create some special memories of their own from the back of that special pony - .................it is one of the primary reasons we raise the "bigger rideable" small equines.

 

[kaykay]

getita what a neat story and pics! thats what its all about

 

[MBennettp]

I am also one that thinks the bigger ones should be trained for riding as well as driving.

Little Man, this year's rescue, has already been started riding by me, not a kid. He is not a mini, he is a shetland and I am not large. I talked to the vet about my riding him before I started him and he said there was no way that I weighed enough to hurt him. He is doing well with the riding and I am hoping that by spring, he will be ready for the kids. I wouldn't let anyone else train him because I want to know exactly what his reactions are and I don't want him abused or scared.

All of the kids in my family have literally grown up on the back of a horse and all of them ride big horses by age 3. Most of them are showing by age 6 and not in lead line classes. I have a niece in New Mexico that trains kid horses for a living and her children ride like adults.

All of the young ones have begged to show this gelding in some of the local open shows and that is what will happen when he is ready. There is no way that I would turn him loose with a heavy handed person at the bit. But, I wouldn't let ANY horse be subjected to that whether it be riding or driving. I have seen too many horses that their mouths have been ruined by someone with heavy hands.

It also makes them easier to train to drive if you can work them under saddle at the same time they are driving training.

I personally think that if some of these saner larger minis and shetlands were trained to be ridden they would be awesome kid ponies.

This little guy is going to make an awesome all around pony. He is very quiet and will do anything I ask of him as long as he understands what it is that I want him to do. There will always be kids in my family to ride him between my grandkids and my nieces and nephews.

Mary

 

[Karen S]

Hi to All:

I would like to invite you down to Texas to the ASPC/AMHR Club of North Texas Daffodil Dandy which will be held on April 14-16, 2006, our June show which is June 9-11, 2006 and our annual Halloween show October 27-29, 2006.

All of our shows have ridding classes for our youth. We have the Equitation classes, Hunter over Fences, Leadline for both the Minis & Ponies, Walk to the Walk, Trot, Canter classes etc. We have a wonderful bunch of kids that fill these classes (10 plus kids) each time our shows are held. Hopefully this year they will get to travel to Congress and show everyone their ridding skills. We are going to have a full slate of classes for this years show as well. If you can't find a show that offers these classes...then offer to sponsor those classes. They don't take up anymore time as anyone of our obstacle or hunter jumper classes. Our club probably has one of the longest show bills out there, but most everyone of those classes offered are filled and I still get everyone out of the show barn on Sunday in plenty of time for them to drive back home. So when you look at a show bill don't look at it as a long drawn out show, for you might be suprised at how fast it does run.

Remember the youth ARE our Future and each and every show manager/show secretary must try to encourage these kids to participate by adding in more of those youth ridding classes so those kids and graduate up to the new National Show Pony division with those new up an coming performance horses that they can continue to ride.

Karen Shaw

Show Committee Chair

ASPC/AMHR Club of North Texas